02 13 Through the Gloom and Doom
by NewDrWhoFan
Summary: 10Rose. The dreaded "Doomsday" episode tag.
1. Ghost Floor

_Here's a story I never thought I'd write. Yes, this is a tag for "Doomsday". Amazing where a few ideas scribbled onto paper can lead you._

_Once again, although this story is meant to remain within the TV show canon, it's written as a sequel to my stories, "The Girl in the Stalking Spaceship", "Age of Bronze", "Lantern Extinguished", "Gravity Schmavity", "Love and Monsters", "Show Her, Tell Her", and "Ghost of a Chance"._

_If you want more cheering up after "Doomsday," check out Orianna-2000's inspiring "Impossible Things I: What Price?"; I say inspiring, because bits of this story were motivated by that one (and used with permission :) ). It's an awesome beginning to an awesome series of stories._

_This is the unbeta'd first chapter, since I'm too impatient to wait for my betas to get back to me ;)_

_Disclaimer: Surprise, surprise, I don't own Doctor Who. Nor do I get anything from writing these stories--except wonderful, constructive reviews! Wink, wink; nudge, nudge ;)_

* * *

Chapter 1, Ghost Floor

The breach closed, and the Doctor fell limply to the floor, staring. He was almost suffocating beneath the layers of emotion. There had been the terror of seeing Rose flying towards the void, the sudden relief of seeing her saved, the dawning comprehension of the immensity of their separation. In amongst all that was the quickly fading sensation of a paradox, altered timelines, telling him that things could have gone even worse. Far worse.

He climbed to his feet, moving slowly towards the wall.

Up until Rose had reappeared in this universe, everything had been clear in the Doctor's mind. He'd realized long ago how much he loved her, but that only increased the burden on him to be selfless in his care for her. He'd known that her needs, what was best for her, had to come first. As long as he could give her the universe, the risks were worthwhile. But if it came down to a choice between him and her family, he knew her family would win. And today, they'd learned she had a chance to be not only with her mother, but with her father and Mickey, too. How could the Doctor hope to compete? How could he _let_ her choose him just because of a promise made more out of stubbornness than anything else?

Then, everything he'd been so certain about had been upended in an instant. Rose had come back.

She must have thought he was angry with her, him practically shouting his instructions, but the truth was he was too caught up in the turmoil in his mind. He couldn't comprehend how she could be here, how she could really have chosen him over everything life in Pete's world could offer her.

He reached the wall, touching it as though Rose were just on the other side, instead of a universe away, in a parallel version of the same building in which he stood.

She'd come back. Again. He'd tried to send her home before, the last time the Daleks had been poised to destroy the earth. He'd sent her _and_ his TARDIS away, resigned to his fate. She'd done the impossible then, more than he could have imagined any companion doing in those circumstances. She'd come back to him, thousands of years in her future, just to face death at his side.

Why hadn't he seen it sooner? Why hadn't he seen it then?

Rose, he thought, laying his head against the smooth, white surface of the wall. Rose. He could almost feel her. Just a faint hint of her mind, fading even as he reached for it, right on the edge of his senses. Rose.

If only she hadn't come back this time, he could have pretended. He could tell himself that she never really meant to spend her entire life with him, that it was just for fun. That she would have given him up eventually. But now, now he knew. And his hearts, which had been hardened against the impossible choice he'd had to make when he sent her with Jackie, had softened so much at her return that now they threatened to tear themselves out of his chest.

Do you know, Rose? Do you know how much it killed me to send you away? How much I love you? Why did I hide it? Why did I wait? Why couldn't I tell you?

My Rose.

He could have sworn his sense of her pulsed slightly, but it was slipping away so quickly now. He pulled away from the wall, severing the connection himself, unwilling to have her torn from him again, so soon.

* * *

_To be continued._


	2. The Other Ghost Floor

Chapter 2, The Other Ghost Floor

Rose had slapped the transport button even before Pete could set her on her feet. Nothing. Ripping it from his hand, she ran over to the counterpart of the lever she'd slipped from, slapping the button again. Twice, three times, she was still here. "No!" she screamed, throwing it to the floor and running towards the now closed breach. "No!" Her fists slammed into the wall over her head, before the rest of her body followed, colliding helplessly against it. She felt her tears flowing freely now, as she slapped and beat at the wall, sobbing. "Take me back!" she screamed, willing the breach to open again and carry her through. "Take me back!" But even as she yelled it, she knew it was impossible. This is what they were trying to do. Send the Cybermen and every last Dalek into the void, then seal the breach forever. "Take me back," she cried, despite herself.

Behind her, she heard Pete echo her worst fears. "It's stopped working. He did it. He closed the breach."

"No," she sobbed at the wall, but knew it was true. So terribly true. After all the times she'd almost died, after all the Doctor's attempts to keep her safe, she'd gone back to him. And now, she was torn from him forever.

"Rose." Like a whisper in her mind, the voice stilled her. She laid her cheek against the wall, straining to hear. As if the Doctor were just on the other side, she heard it again. "Rose."

She wasn't imagining. "I'm here," she whispered through her tears. She could feel him. Only now did she realize how empty she'd felt for the past few minutes, only now when that emptiness was suddenly filled again. But the pain--it was like an echo of her own, redoubled and reflected back across the void.

"Do you know, Rose? Do you know how much it killed me to send you away? How much I love you?"

She felt another sob escape at that.

"Why did I hide it? Why did I wait? Why couldn't I tell you? My Rose."

"Doctor," she cried, but he didn't answer. "I love you." Nothing. He couldn't hear her, she realized. Then, all too abruptly, he was gone.

She leaned against the wall, trying to calm her shuddering breaths. Weakly, she turned to see the trio that stood behind her. Pete, who didn't seem to have a clue what to do; Mickey, who looked like he wished he could just take her pain away; her Mum, the only one who really knew how she must feel, but standing somewhat guiltily beside her own second chance.

Rose would never get a second chance.

She let that thought soak in, while her breaths slowed, pressing her head against the wall. She would never see him again. Never ever.

_Never say "never ever"._

Just a memory this time, but the Doctor's words startled her. She had said something about the two of them never ever being split apart. But now, they were apart. Hopelessly so. But still, _never say "never ever". _

Rose fisted her hands at her sides, forcing the tears to stop. With a last, weak gasp, she turned and walked away from the wall.

She watched her Mum pull her hands away from the men on either side of her, then run forward to cover the few steps between them. Rose let herself be held, just focusing on breathing, just breathing.

* * *

_To be continued._


	3. Home Is Where the Heart Is

Chapter 3, Home Is Where the Heart Is

The Doctor quickened his pace, heading back to the TARDIS. Once the police and armed forces had recovered from the sudden disappearance of the aliens, they'd be heading straight for Torchwood. Whether they knew about the secret agency or not, no one nearby could have missed the fact that all the Daleks and Cybermen had ended up at Canary Wharf.

He found the ship at last. "Just you and me, now," he said thickly, as he pulled his key from his pocket. He touched the wood of the door, and thought it felt slightly warmer than usual. Opening the lock, he stepped inside.

He was met with a heart-wrenching, haunting melody. The TARDIS' communication was often through the little hums and thrums of her engines, but every so often she would actually sing. And he'd heard this song before.

He closed the doors behind him automatically, then walked forward just far enough to slump against one of the support pylons. The TARDIS had sung to him when he'd lost companions before, or when they'd left him, or when he simply needed comfort for which he was too proud or stubborn to ask. But this song . . . .

This was the song she sang when Gallifrey burned.

He could hardly say it had kept him sane, but it had kept his Ninth incarnation from being completely _in_-sane. His first thought in that form had been of the emptiness in his mind. All of the Time Lords, whom he'd hardly ever given a second thought, were gone. His next thought had been that he'd only have to kill himself--four more times?--in order to join them. Even in that state, he didn't think he had it within himself to simply refuse to regenerate. That was when the TARDIS had practically shouted at him, forcing him to listen to her song.

It was a song of loss, to be sure, of agonizing loss. But it was a song of love, a love that could never be expressed unless the singer was alive to sing.

And now she sang for Rose.

He remembered what Rose had said, after she had returned to him on the Gamestation. _"I looked into the TARDIS, and the TARDIS looked into me."_

What he had done in saving Rose, taking the Vortex from her, it was a mere transfer of energy. But Rose, she had looked into the TARDIS' Heart. What had she seen? What had the TARDIS seen?

Was a bit of his ship with her even now?

Could a bit of Rose still be here?

* * *

Rose hadn't cried again since leaving the Ghost Floor. Jackie had stayed at her side all the same, hand firmly held in her own, as they made their way through the parallel tower. They followed Pete and Mickey as the Torchwood forces were redeployed after their successful last stand against the Cybermen. Soon, the four of them were in Pete's car, heading for the Tyler mansion.

Rose and Jackie were given comfortabl-appointed guest rooms, and Mickey agreed to stay over as well. Rose was glad. The thing was, they knew Mickey. As much as Pete was doing for them, he wasn't _their_ Pete.

Rose showered, but redressed in her own clothes. She and Jackie had come here with literally only the clothes on their backs. At least they were promised a shopping trip after dinner. So, making the best of things, Rose headed downstairs to the dining room, running her fingers through her still-damp hair.

At the base of the stairs, Rose noticed a framed needlework that she must have missed on her way in. She doubted this world's Jackie had done it; it looked like a store-bought piece. But its words were what struck her:

"HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS"

A simple, overused phrase, perhaps, but Rose stood there, gently touching the frame, her mind on the Doctor in the TARDIS. This would never be home. She loved her Mum, and Mickey, but she'd left her heart a universe away.

She felt Mickey's arms around her before she even registered his approach. She turned and held onto him, giving in to tears again at last. She cried herself out into his shoulder, thinking how unfair it was that he was just her crying pillow, and how grateful she was to have him there.

"I'm not gonna tell you to forget 'im," he said, once she'd calmed a bit. "But we're here for you, and you really can go on, make a life here."

Rose didn't say anything, but pulled back and nodded. Mickey gave her a pat on the shoulder, then left her to her thoughts.

This was Krop Tor all over again, she thought, rubbing at her eyes. Of course, then, she'd only been faced with life without the TARDIS. Now, both Doctor and TARDIS were torn from her, but she still had to go on.

Everyone leaves home in the end, she'd told the Doctor.

She pulled her TARDIS key from her pocket and hung it around her neck. She'd live this life, but she'd never forget where her heart truly lay.

* * *

_To be continued._


	4. A Week In the Life

Chapter 4, A Week In the Life

The Doctor searched the world over, trying desperately to find one last hole between the universes. Although the breach had been physically located at the Torchwood tower, the Cybermen had bled through all across the surface of the planet. That meant that somewhere on earth at least a chink might remain, a way for him to get Rose back. After about a week of dead ends, he finally found one off the coast of India.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, grasping the scanner, hardly believing his eyes. "That's it, that's it, that's it! Lock onto that gap!" he ordered the TARDIS while he turned the necessary dials.

She thrummed at him as if to say, "What did you think I was going to do?"

Having established a solid lock on the gap's coordinates, the Doctor kissed the console. "Oh, you beautiful ship, you; tell me, what we've got?"

His face fell as he read the detailed analysis.

It wouldn't work.

There was no more crack in time and space for his TARDIS to fall through. This was just a tiny, microscopic gap between the universes. The entire breach would, indeed, fracture if he attempted the trip--in either direction. He'd have to seal it himself for the safety of the multiverse, walling himself in. Walling Rose out.

And this had been his last hope.

He stumbled back from the console, sliding down to the floor, head resting against the captain's chair. He'd been surviving on hope alone, this past week. That hope had dwindled to fumes as he searched, disgusted at how completely the breach had sealed itself--just as he'd predicted. Now, it was gone.

"Rose," he whispered, closing his eyes, blocking out every single thought but her from his mind. "Rose." If only he had told her . . . he hadn't even said goodbye.

To his surprise, he found he wasn't alone in his mind. Could that really be her? Was it possible? He reached out, praying he hadn't completely lost his wits, absently running through the possibilities of an inter-universal psychic bridge through the gap (would it work for other types of communication?) while he tried to find her.

There she was. Rose.

He sat up more, disbelieving. "Can you hear me?" he asked aloud, but focusing on the faint link. Something, not words, precisely, but a feeling that wasn't his, shot back at him. "Oh, Rose," he sighed, and decided to go for it, "I don't know how or even if you're getting this, but listen to me." He was calculating, weighing possibilities, estimating energy requirements, but all the while focusing intently on Rose. "I've found one last gap between our worlds, and I think I can find a way for us to communicate, much better than this." He felt her excitement, and continued. "I have no idea where on your earth the gap will appear, but the one on this side is in India, so get ready for a bit of a trip. You'll just have to follow my voice. I'll keep this connection open for as long as I can. Just follow my voice, Rose." He felt her acknowledgement pulse across the link, then stood, putting his plan into action. In the back of his mind, he kept up a steady mantra of her name, "Rose, Rose," calling her to him.

He kept the TARDIS locked onto the gap, maintaining the psychic projection as he searched the galaxy for the closest, usable power source. Steering the ship towards a nearby supernova, the Doctor configured the TARDIS' systems so that he could harness sufficient energy to sustain a holographic interface.

"Rose," he continued to call, feeling his sense of her growing stronger by the moment. Not long now, and he'd be able to see her.

One last time.

* * *

_To be continued._


	5. A Year In the Life

Chapter 5, A Year In the Life

Rose and Jackie stayed at the Tyler mansion, adopting the identities that Pete managed to establish for them. Jackie's story was that she'd suffered amnesia after escaping the Cybermen's first attack, and had been incorrectly presumed dead for four years. Rose's bio was a bit more difficult to swallow, claiming that she'd been kidnapped after having unexpectedly been born abroad, so there had never been any proper records of the birth, and the Tylers hadn't mentioned it because of the pain of their loss. She'd been taken back to England by the kidnappers who intended to demand ransom, but they had mysteriously disappeared, leaving a nameless Rose to an orphanage. However preposterous her story seemed, Pete's influence and Torchwood's resources were sufficient to integrate both her and Jackie into society.

Mickey had moved into the mansion as well, bringing his Gran along once it became clear he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. Officially, he was quartered with them as Pete's executive assistant, but he had no such duties. He was there purely for Rose and Jackie. Rose thought it might be strange at first, living with her ex-boyfriend, but any such fears quickly disappeared. He was like a brother to her now, and he joked about them being Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, not finding out they were related until years into their friendship. Rose thought that was a bit sick, but Mickey insisted it was just a metaphor.

For the entire first week, Rose awoke each morning expecting to be on the TARDIS. She'd push past the disappointment, then try desperately to recall whatever dream of her adventures she'd been having. Sometimes she'd cry, but mostly she managed to cling to the happy memories. She finally decided to get a journal, and it became a part of her morning routine: wake up, make a new entry about travelling with the Doctor, wash, dress, go down to breakfast. It helped. She didn't cry anymore, and she didn't worry as much about forgetting little things, either.

After the first few weeks of getting settled, Rose decided to work for Torchwood with Mickey and Pete, figuring it was her best hope of finding a safe way across the void and back to the Doctor. At the same time, she forced that thought to the back of her mind, knowing that she'd go insane if she let that be her only purpose in life. Knowing a thing or two about aliens, she quickly excelled.

Rose got to thinking, parallel world, parallel Doctor? She and Mickey searched through both the internet and Torchwood's files, but came up empty-handed. Aside from Pete's experiences, Torchwood had never heard of the Doctor. The organization had been established after Queen Victoria was saved from a werewolf by her husband and his friend. The internet was just as useless. No mentions of mysterious blue boxes or anything related to the Doctor as they knew him.

A couple months into their stay, Rose realized that she, Mickey, and Jackie still retained the ability to understand and speak alien languages. Pete had taken them on a trip to France, and ended up being the only one who needed the French-English dictionary. A little flame of hope had sprung up at the discovery, Rose figuring that if they were still somehow connected to the TARDIS, then that connection might mean a way home for her.

About four months after Rose's arrival in Pete's world, Pete and Jackie "renewed" their vows. Secretly, it was actually their wedding, and they went all out with the trappings and guest list. Pete got her name right, this time. Rose was perfectly happy to call him "Dad", as he'd long ago given up insisting she wasn't his daughter. They were a family, a real family again.

Six months later, they learned there were even more Tylers on the way.

Rose's coworkers tried to set her up with innumerable would-be boyfriends, but Rose wouldn't have any of it. To her relief, her family--which, in her mind, included Mickey--never tried to push her into anything. She wasn't pining away for the Doctor (although, she did cherish each and every dream of him), but he was a rather tough act to follow. Considering how much meaning had lain behind every single look, touch, or kiss between them, she couldn't stomach the casual dating scene. She'd need a lot more time than had already passed before she would be over the Doctor enough to start seeing anyone else.

She had spent a year in Pete's world when Rose had her most vivid dream of the Doctor. She felt like she was right back on the Ghost Floor, hearing him speak in her mind, with almost the same desperate emotion. "Doctor?" she called out to him.

A pause, confusion perhaps, then, "Can you hear me?" the dream Doctor asked.

"Yes! Where are you?" Rose screamed in her mind.

"Oh, Rose, I don't know how or even if you're getting this, but listen to me." So, he still couldn't hear her, but he knew she was there. "I've found one last gap between our worlds, and I think I can find a way for us to communicate, much better than this." There was a gap! She was right! "I have no idea where on your earth the gap will appear, but the one on this side is in India, so get ready for a bit of a trip. You'll just have to follow my voice. I'll keep this connection open for as long as I can.

"Just follow my voice, Rose.

"Rose."

She awoke, amazed at the clarity of the dream, wishing that it could have been true.

"Rose."

She shot bolt upright in bed, realizing that it was real. That was his voice! Not some remnant of a dream. She listened, straining to hear past the blood pounding in her ears, needing to hear it just one more time.

"Rose."

Like a flash, she tossed her bed covers aside, and tore out into the hallway. "Mum! Dad! Mickey!"

* * *

_To be continued._


	6. Dålig Ulv Stranden

_I admit, I cried while writing this chapter (and even when editing it two years later). It might not translate to reading, but there you go._

_Last chapter for this story. I'm only doing Rose's POV for this one, assuming her introspective guesses at the Doctor's side of things are bang on._

* * *

Chapter 6, Dålig Ulv Stranden

This was it. The Doctor's voice was clear in Rose's mind, calling her to this beach. "Rose," she heard again, as the jeep pulled to a stop. She got out and walked along the shore, shivering slightly in the wind, looking for some sign of the Doctor.

"Bad Wolf Bay" had been the translation on the map. The Doctor had said he'd found a way to communicate, but she couldn't help but hope he'd found a way to rescue her. The last time Bad Wolf had reared its head, it had been a message telling Rose that she had a way back to the Doctor. Maybe, this time, it was in the Doctor's hands. He was the one with the TARDIS, after all.

"Rose."

More clearly than ever, she heard her name, and turned towards the Doctor's voice. There he was! He looked sort of see-through, obviously not physically standing on the beach. "Where are you?" she asked.

"Inside the TARDIS," he answered. "There's one tiny little gap in the universe left, just about to close."

So hurry up and take me through, she thought hopefully.

"And it takes a lot of power to send this projection," the Doctor continued. "I'm in orbit around a super nova." She saw him laugh a bit at that. "I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."

Goodbye, after all. Rose shook her head, trying to bury her hope of rescue. "You look like a ghost," she told him.

**"**Hold on." He aimed his sonic screwdriver at something Rose couldn't see, and his image firmed, looking almost solid.

Rose walked up to him, hoping that he might just be as real as he looked. She raised her hand, trying to touch his face. "Can I t-"

**"**I'm still just an image," he interrupted her. "No touch," he said sadly, obviously as disappointed as she was.

She couldn't help but ask, "Can't you come through properly?"

"The whole thing would fracture," he explained. "Two universes would collapse."

"So?" she asked, only half-joking.

The Doctor smiled at that.

Oh, how she wished she could hold him.

He looked around at the beach. "Where are we? Where did the gap come out?"

"We're in Norway," Rose told him. A bit of a ways from India, she neglected to add.

**"**Norway, right," he nodded.

She might as well fill him in on her little hope-raiser. "About fifty miles out of Bergen. It's called 'Dålig Ulv Stranden'."

The Doctor looked shocked; did he know what it meant? "Dalek?" he asked.

Okay, maybe not. "Dål_ig_," Rose clarified. "It's Norwegian for 'bad'." She took a breath while the Doctor waited for her to explain. "This translates as 'Bad Wolf Bay'." That he understood, and they shared a bit of a laugh at the irony. But Rose didn't want to waste her last moments with him, joking about ironic phrases. "How long have we got?" she asked him.

**"**About two minutes," he told her.

Two minutes? she thought. What do you do with your last two minutes with the love of your life, when you can't even hold him? "I can't think of what to say!" she choked out, laughing slightly at the absurdity. Here he was burning up a sun . . . .

She noticed the Doctor glance over her shoulder towards the jeep. "You've still got Mr. Mickey, then?"

Jealous much? She could hear it in his voice, no matter how nonchalantly he tried to say it. She couldn't help a bit of teasing. "There's five of us now," she told him. "Mum, Dad, Mickey-and the baby."

"You're not . . . ."

Idiot, she thought, at how easily he took the bait. It would have been yours, if anyone's, and we certainly never-she bit back the tears, and forced a laugh. "No, it's Mum." The Doctor looked back at Jackie, the relief rather obvious on his face. "She's three months gone, More Tylers on the way," she supplied

The Doctor looked back to her. "And what about you? Are you . . . ?"

Settling down? Wasting away wishing for you? What? "Yeah, I'm-I'm back workin' in the shop."

He nodded. He was so gullible, sometimes. "Oh, good for you," he said, as if that was just what he wished for her life.

"Shut up. No, I'm not," she corrected. It was too fun teasing him, but time was slipping away. "There's still a Torchwood on this planet," she explained. "It's open for business." More tears flowed as she thought about her prospects, and how much they'd changed, thanks to the Doctor. "I think I know a thing or two 'bout aliens," she observed, barely getting the words past her throat.

He smiled at her, so proudly. "Rose Tyler: Defender of the Earth," he proclaimed. He was working up to something, she could tell. Finally, he told her. "You're dead, officially, back home."

But not here, she thought, crying quietly while he spoke. Here, it just feels like it.

"So many people died that day, and you've gone missing. You're on the list of the dead." Then he smiled-a forced smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Here you are, living a life day after day," he said. "The one adventure I can never have."

Rose couldn't help her sobbing, now. We almost had that adventure together, though, didn't we? "Am I ever gonna see you again?" she asked.

He hadn't shed any tears yet, but they shone in his eyes. "You can't."

"What're you gonna do?" Rose asked.

**"**Oh, I've got the TARDIS. Same old life. Last of the Time Lords."

"On your own?" She didn't want him to be alone.

But the Doctor nodded.

Through her tears, Rose made to tell him, "I lo-" but the words were stuck in her throat. I _will_ tell him, she thought. He waited until he could only _think_ the words at me, I have to say it while I have the chance. He needs to know, especially if he'll be on his own, "I _love_ you." she said, determinedly.

"Quite right, too," he answered gently, sadly.

She smiled, nodding, knowing that now at least he knew. Even if they could never be together, even if he could never say the words to her face-

"And I suppose," he said, as if bracing himself, "if it's one last chance to say it . . . ." Rose held her breath. "Rose Tyler-"

And he was gone.

Forever.

She stood, feeling for all the world utterly alone, sobbing into her hands. The tears flowed freely, Rose only now allowing herself to realize the finality of her situation.

When she turned back to her family, she saw the pain on their faces, pain for her. Jackie ran out to meet her, holding her tightly when they met.

"He's gone," Rose cried into her shoulder. "He's gone. That's it, he's gone," she told her.

Jackie shushed her, rubbing her back, and Rose felt her crying as well. "You got to say goodbye, yeah?" Jackie asked when Rose calmed enough to pull away.

Rose nodded, replaying the Doctor's almost-last-words in her head. She knew his mind, and to see his face left her in no doubt. Still, to hear the words would have been nice, but that's the Doctor for you. A Time Lord without enough time.

They drove the five hours back to Stavanger. Pete and Jackie went into the hotel and arranged for rooms, leaving Rose asleep against Mickey's shoulder. Rose hadn't realized she'd drifted off, until Pete and Jackie climbed back into the jeep, waking her.

"Rose, honey," said Jackie, turning to her from the front passenger seat.

Rose thought she looked on the verge of tears. "What's wrong, Mum?"

Jackie looked to Pete, who answered for her. "Your Mum couldn't understand them," he explained. "They had to call another employee to the desk who spoke English."

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," Jackie said, reaching out for Rose's hand.

"It's closed," Rose said, the truth of the Doctor's words sinking in at last. The last gap between universes, her last link to the Doctor and the TARDIS. Gone. She swallowed, giving her Mum's hand a squeeze. "'S alright," she told her, fighting back her own tears. "We got to say goodbye," she said, more to reassure herself than her Mum. "That's somethin'." Something she knew the Doctor's companions didn't often get. "Now, we go on."

* * *

_The end._

_Shwoo! Glad that's over :) Now, I can go and write "Doomsday Averted", "Runaway Bride", "The Smiths and Miss Jones", et cetera, et cetera, et cetera ;)_


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